Jean Frances Barker
February 29, 1932 - September 16, 2014
Obituary
Jean Frances Barker, known for her warm and easy manner and for her grace and the ability to put others at ease, died Sept. 16, 2014, in Seattle, where she had lived for nearly 20 years. She was 82.
She was a leap year baby, born Feb. 29, 1932, at Walla Walla, Wash., to Ralph and Frances Whitemarsh, and spent most of her youth in Pasco, Wash. She was graduated from Pasco High School and attended Kinman Business School in Spokane.
She married Charles Barker in 1952. They had been high school classmates and had known each other since grade school. They had been married 61 years when he died in November of 2013.
They lived in Pasco, Walla Walla and Spokane before moving to Seattle.
Jean worked outside the home all of her adult life, taking pride in her career, and was still employed when she passed away. She was a skilled manager and businesswoman and worked in insurance, real estate and other fields, inevitably taking a key role in the business.
She managed a large real estate brokerage in Spokane and later a shopping mall. She and Charles owned the Pub Tavern in the Spokane Valley and later sold real estate as a team.
In 1997 they moved to Seattle where the two co-managed the Lake Court Apartments on Lake Washington, she handling the administrative duties and he the maintenance. As they had all of their marriage, the two brought unique individual characteristics to the job, but the whole exceeded the sum of the parts and their partnership helped draw together and nurture the community of people who lived there. And they felt nurtured by the experience themselves.
She is survived by three sons, Doug (Kathy) of Olympia; Cam (Teresa) of Keller, Texas; and Jeff of Bremerton; seven grandchildren, Sean, Quinn, Megan, Alyssa, Claire, Ryan and Kylie; four great grandchildren, Patrick, Milo, Caden and Fable; and her brother, Bruce Whitemarsh of Pasco.
Her sister Elizabeth died before her.
A funeral service is planned for 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11, at Fauntleroy Church in West Seattle.
Her ashes will be placed with those of Charles at Tahoma National Cemetery.
Doug, Cam, and Jeff this is John and Di that live across the street from your folks on 10th Av. Our prayers are with you and your lost of both parents in a year. They were great people and we even got to know you and some of your kids. If you still have the property, and you need something done, just call 509-466-1203. I am still pretty handy and since I know that house inside and out because I mgt. it for probably six years or more. That a great picture of you mother by the way. John and Di